Leadership development may be the most important thing any company does. That’s why, every week, I review blogs and other publications that cover leadership development to find the very best leadership development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to posts about leadership development beyond the classroom, focusing on experiments, the value of a mentor, and leadership development the way the Voice develops contestants.
From Sharlyn Lauby: You Need to Take Leadership Development Beyond the Classroom
“Leadership skills are not developed in classrooms. Yes, leadership models and theories can be learned in classrooms. Activities and exercises can be conducted to reinforce the learning and practice. But becoming a leader doesn’t happen in the classroom. It’s about what you do outside of the classroom.”
From Ron Ashkenas and Robert Hausmann: Leadership Development Should Focus on Experiments
“A number of companies are starting to address this issue by reversing the traditional leadership development ‘equation,’ which essentially posits that if you give leaders the right skills and experiences, they will change their behaviors and produce better results. Reversing this means that companies start at the end — with results. In other words, leadership development begins with a real business challenge that leaders need to solve, instead of with a hypothetical case study or simulation. In order to succeed, they have to act, reach outside of their comfort zone, and adapt their approach.”
From Brian Clendenin: Top performing employees know the value of a mentor: SAP senior vice president
“Organizations like SAP have developed formal mentoring programs to improve employee onboarding, leadership development and other initiatives. Jenny Dearborn, SAP’s senior vice president and chief learning officer, was recognized in 2014 and 2015 as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by the National Diversity Council as is a thought leader in learning, human capital management, sales performance, and business culture. Jenny shared with me why mentoring is important, how it can help your career, and where she sees mentoring going in the future.”
From Mike Haberman: Want your employees to improve? Treat them like they do on The Voice.
“My wife and I are fans of the singing competition show called The Voice. It is a show on which competitors display their talent in hopes of being selected to participate in a competition in order to become ‘The Voice’ at the end of the show. It is not unlike the selection process companies go through to find employees. There is one difference however, after selection for participation the contestants receive immediate coaching on how to get better.”
